At Any Cost
by psychic.refugee99
Summary: Since the inception of the Isle of the Lost, the leaders of Auradon had only thought to bind magic, they did not bind science. The mad scientists were not going to sit idly by and accept their banishment. In their effort to free themselves, they unleashed a far worse enemy than any villain; an enemy that only knew a hunger for flesh and immune to magic.
1. Chapter 1

Woot! The winning story of the poll!

I make no le fric and all other useless disclaimers about how I don't own Descendant's as Disney has better things to do than sue a broke student which they would probably lose anyway due to Fair Use, 17 U.S.C. § 107. Also, if anyone asks this work is a nonprofit educational tool. ;-D

While you may hear repeated names and some themes, this story is completely divorced and separate from Legacy of Evil. I already did a bunch of research for that for ancillary characters and backstory, I don't think I should have to reinvent everything for every different Descendants story I do. Work smarter, not harder. lol

* * *

Carlos de Vil loved technology, he took after his uncle Pablo Hernando "P.H." de Vil. Technically P.H. was his first cousin once removed, but that was awkward to say so he called him his uncle. Both would spend hours tinkering with the cast offs of the Mainland and tried to make their impoverished little island a little more bearable. They both had a love for science and aptitude for technology, the only good thing about the Isle was that they could spend all the many hours of the day experimenting to their hearts' content.

They lived on the outskirts of town, hidden in a warehouse that looked as dilapidated as the any other old building in the former fishing island turned prison. They had devised a special door that would only let them in if they pulled a hidden lever and led to a hidden staircase. Most assumed P.H. lived on the first floor; a ratted mattress placed haphazardly in a corner, and rotting food discarded in a pile was enough to fool the citizenry. The first floor of their home looked like most hovels that anyone on the Isle would have.

The second floor that only they could get to was clean and filled with various experiments. There were piles of clutter, appliances taken apart to their individual pieces and some remade to be better. There were also designs for improvement not realized because of their lack of resources.

Their home was the only place on the island that had fully functioning and stable electricity, a washer and dryer, and a heater. Under his uncle's tutalage, Carlos had created a generator that ran on organic waste and both enjoyed warm showers and hot food every night. Their jobs on the island were humble waste collectors, no one the wiser that what they collected let them live the most comfortable lives as anyone could while imprisoned.

Carlos led a sheltered life, tutored by his uncle instead of attending the makeshift school the citizens dubbed "Dragon Hall." P.H. had ranted and raved that it was taught by second rate scientists that weren't fit to teach making ice, much less a proper curriculum. The teen didn't fight it, he wasn't eager to attend a school filled with the children of villains and children of villains' henchmen. His memory of them were that all of them were hyper aggressive and trying to prove themselves that they were their parents reborn. It also didn't help that the entire Isle was in a constant food shortage, hunger pains made them all the meaner.

He had attended one day, was bullied the entire time, and he never stepped foot there again. He was pretty sure no one remembered the small freckled two toned haired boy ever existed.

He was happy to hide away and build things. His current project was a 3D printer, he hoped he could mass produce some much needed items: nails, tools, and other things that were hard to come by and the Mainland never thought to donate. There was plenty of scrape metal from abandoned buildings and whatever was left over after the Isle was abandoned by Auradonian citizens and replaced with prisoners.

If the islanders had better supplies to fix their homes or build something new, then maybe life on the Isle could feel more civilized.

The only regret he had from being so isolated was in the form of a beautiful girl that came around to collect taxes.

His uncle took care of dealing with Mal, the daughter of Maleficent, who was the main tax collector. Uncle ranted that it was extortion, plain and simple. There was no need for the euphemism of "tax" when they did nothing for the Isle.

Carlos disagreed, there was a certain severe but functional order to the island with Maleficent in charge. The prisoners weren't just manic villains who were completely incompetent and couldn't take over the world even if they had a genie and unlimited wishes. There were a few, but they were not the majority.

Some were murderers, rapists, and unrepentant killers. Nameless villains who caused pain and wreaked havoc for the simple pleasure they got out it. They remained unknown simply because they lacked the finesse and appeal of a villain who tried to take over the world or fought with royalty.

Just because they weren't notorious or in fairy tales didn't mean they weren't dangerous.

Maleficent, respectfully called Mächtiger and undisputed Leader of the Isle, had killed those villains off immediately. There were some villains even the other villains could not tolerate. She had no patience or lenience for rapists or those who killed for sport. She had done what King Adam has refused to do, execute those who were too savage even for the Isle.

They paid a "tax" and the teen genius thought it was well worth every scrap of metal or something they could repurpose that they collected in the dead of night. While their main apartment was hidden, if a thief or thug was so inclined to look closer or climb up the sides then they would find their true home and the two would lose everything they had.

He also had nightmares that a lesser gangster would see his potential and use him to make weapons. He had thought to do so a couple years ago, wondering if it would be prudent to add that layer of protection to their home. His uncle put a stop to that once he found his sketches and calculations.

" _You do not want to open that Pandora's Box, Carlos. Once they figure you can make weapons, that's the end. You'd be little better than a slave, inventing for whatever gangster wants you. It is also why we do not share the generator or garden. You may want to help them, but that is not how it works on the Isle. They'd simply take it for themselves and profit off it. Gods know what they'd do to a small boy like you. A pretty pale thing who's never fought a day in his life? Males like us do not last long, it's best we keep our heads down and out of the way."_

So any weapons he might have created to protect themselves were shelved and forgotten. It went the same for a massive public generator, who knew what Maleficent or the others would force them to do if they were found out.

So instead he helped create a garden that grew with the little sunlight the Isle could get. Items that could be easily kept secret. The small generator he was able to build powered bulbs that supplemented the dim sunlight the pollution did allow to pass through, the windows blacked out so no one from the outside would see the unnaturally bright light. They were comfortable. They were well fed and Maleficent provided protection from the other residents.

So Carlos spent the days studying any new science books the mainland provided, usually ten years old and probably sorely outdated but well enough for the island, and came up with idea after idea to make his home a better place. His uncle gave him lessons in math, science, and writing. The teen probably hadn't talked to another islander is over a decade. He could only hide and watch others live their life on the hostile land.

Carlos liked to spy from the second floor while his uncle went out to meet Mal, reverently called Drachenkind by her henchmen, and paid the tax. It took several weeks, but he had perfected a spy glass from old wine bottles and broken mirrors.

It was a sad state of affairs, but the first of the month was his favorite as he got a chance to catch a glimpse of a girl he thought himself in love with since he was thirteen. He waited to hear the fading sound of footsteps as his uncle wet out to deliver the tribute, he eagerly went to a checkered stain glass window that was just opaque enough to obscure his visibility.

He adjusted the spy glass and focused it on the petite fae.

The daughter of Maleficent stood proudly, flanked by two henchmen that were just a little north of six feet and more muscles than anyone on an impoverished Isle ought to have. It was a weird dichotomy, a girl who couldn't be more than 5'2" and these behemoths gave her deference and followed her orders without delay.

His uncle knew he liked to watch the exchange, he told P.H. it was to get a clear view without being noticeable; which was true. He didn't add that he wanted a clear view of Mal, if his uncle assumed that it was for safety then there was nothing to say the device couldn't serve a dual purpose.

Although he knew he couldn't be seen, it always made his breath hitch when Mal would look directly at the scope; it seemed she could somehow sense his eyes on her, but the fact she never said anything to P.H. or demanded to search the warehouse meant that it was only a gut feeling on her part, not something she felt was an actual threat to her.

It was jarring at first, he had illogically jumped away from his viewer and hid; worried that she could somehow see him despite the scope being well hidden and even if she could make out the instrument, she would not be able to see him because that was not how spy glasses worked.

Now he just admired and was in awe of her beautiful mischievous grin. He could never hear them, but his uncle always seemed rather annoyed after paying taxes. With her delicate features and magenta hair, it was clear she was of fae descent. Her rounded ears and lack of horns and wings indicated she was half human. Unfortunately, P.H. was never one to gossip, so Carlos never got a clear answer as to Mal's sire.

Given his massive crush on her and his late night fantasies that led to certain activities, he prayed to whatever god that was listening that they didn't share a father. He didn't think they shared any features, but he was predominantly a de Vil and Mal was her mother in human miniature. It was totally possible that if they shared a parent, then any potential shared sire's features were lost amongst much stronger genes.

He had attempted to glean any information from his uncle to dispel his worries, but the man was as in the dark as anyone; Cruella apparently never spoke of who fathered him and she died without telling anyone, taking the secret of his paternity to her grave.

Besides his own gut feeling, or perhaps so deeply in denial he believed what he wished to believe, he also didn't think someone of Maleficent's caliber would share a man with Cruella de Vil. Although labeled a villain worth banishing to the Isle of the Lost, most other villains, at least from what his uncle had told him, never really considered his mother to be one of them. From the few times his uncle would talk of his beloved cousin, he didn't think she was one of them as well.

" _You may hear a lot of things regarding your mother. But know that she was a brilliant designer and a shrewd business woman. Under her leadership, the de Vils went from well off fur traders to one of the wealthiest families in all of Auradon. It was her funding that started my technology research and business and why_ _ **each**_ _de Vil was wealthy in their own right. What she did was wrong, but she did not deserve banishment. She wasn't a villain, she was sick."_

P.H. had talked about schizophrenia and manic episodes, words that didn't make a lot of sense to him, but he felt sorry for the mother he never knew. He couldn't imagine not being in control of his actions in such a way, he wished he could go back in time and help her somehow.

Cruella's banishment was how his genius uncle had come to be on the island. He thought his cousin's sentence was unjust, grossly harsh, and had attempted to break her out using his own inventions. He had managed to create a hole in the barrier and almost had her out, but Nadine FéeMarraine (more famously known as The Fairy Godmother) was quick with her wand and all he had gained from his efforts was his own exile.

While imprisonment on the Isle of the Lost was not something he would wish on his worst enemy, Carlos couldn't help but be grateful for his uncle's presence. He didn't know what was worse, being raised at the mercy of the villains or with a sick mother who probably was in no shape to take care of him. Something told him that if P.H. wasn't around, then Carlos would not have lived past a few days after his birth. He never knew Cruella and although P.H. clearly loved his cousin, his uncle also never shied away when telling him she was ill and wouldn't have been fit to raise him even if she had lived. Hearing about the animal cruelty and how far she went to get a fur coat, Carlos could agree that his mother was ill. Even if she hadn't been imprisoned, his uncle told him he would have raised him regardless.

" _You're like me, smart and handsome. Your idiot uncle Cecil and his stupid ponytail wouldn't have known what to do with you. No, I was always meant to take care of you."_

He was also aware that Cruella had a husband that followed her into banishment. When she died of childbed fever, he had disappeared and no one had any idea where he went. Most assumed he had died of heartbreak. Carlos had wondered if that was his father, but P.H. told him it was unlikely.

" _I knew Fisher for a long time…you are not his son and I'll leave it at that."_

He doubted he would ever find out who is father was, since he had P.H. he wasn't all that bothered by it. There were plenty of fatherless orphans on the Isle, it was not some rare occurrence. Titles and marital status meant little, so he was content to work on his gadgets and collect waste in the dead of night to not be noticed.

He didn't count on the beautiful fae to be clever enough to find him nor that the other scientists on the Isle were determined to gain their freedom, at any cost.

* * *

One morning they were in the central part of their apartment, a cleared out space that most would consider a living room. It's where they would longue in their off time, a perfectly functioning television sat in front of a worn red couch.

P.H. paced around the room, nervous about the summons he had received. Carlos sat in a small wooden chair, one they had found in their rummaging. He too was nervous as it was a rare occurrence, and usually never a good one, to be summoned by Maleficent.

"Do you have any idea of what she wants?" Carlos asked, hoping his uncle had a logical and non-lethal idea.

"No. All taxes are paid on time and we faithfully carry out waste disposal. No one should have any qualms with us, and no reason Mächtiger should want to speak to me."

He continued to pace the room, the movement calming his nerves less he have a total panic attack.

"Maybe she wants to give you some sort of commendation…I doubt the streets had ever been so clean until we started to collect rubbish."

It was a long shot, but it was his best hope.

P.H. had stopped and stared from across the room. It was clear that he did not think that was the case at all.

"If we found a way off the island, I doubt even then Maleficent would commend us then."

That was true enough, the fae notorious for being mercurial and never known to show appreciation. It made Carlos' stomach twist in fear and worry, would he be entirely alone the coming evening?

Carlos wished he had created at least something to protect themselves. It may not have been enough to fend off all of Mächtiger's henchmen, but it would have at least given uncle a fighting chance.

Still, without delay P.H. had put on his best clothes and trudged over to the Bargain Castle; it was Maleficent's store front that made her seem like any other legitimate business the Isle offered, rather than the leader of the quasi-government crime syndicate. While the Crown had all but abandoned them to their fate, she was smart enough to know it was better to always remain hidden rather than get cocky and potentially incur King Adam's attention.

He was nervous for his uncle, but he knew there was nothing for him to do about it. If something were to happen, then the plan was for him to gather the hydroponic and generator technology and escape to the country. There was a hidden cabin far into the heart of the Isle, where most would not bother going that remote. He would live alone and hopefully never be bothered again.

He wasn't exactly a fan of that plan, he wasn't sure if he could stay sane if he were literally by himself for the rest of his life at only seventeen. So he had to hope that whatever Maleficent wanted, he wouldn't be losing an uncle and the only family he had.

The sun had been up for several hours and Carlos fell asleep despite his worry, his internal clock set to being awake at night. He was in a light sleep stage when he was awoken, he was dazed and confused from his slumber; he had picked up on some unusual sounds, ones that he subconsciously knew shouldn't be there at that time of day and with his uncle gone.

Sound of footsteps and someone chewing loudly.

Through bleary eyes, he saw a tall boy around his age standing over him as he chewed on a carrot from the hydroponic garden. It still took a few seconds for his brain to process what he was seeing, once he realized that someone who wasn't a de Vil was in his home, his first instinct was to panic and get away.

The other boy wasn't having any of that.

"Whoa, there skunky. You're not going anywhere," the intruder said, looking amused that he would even try and Carlos found himself trapped when the boy had placed his foot on his throat. So Carlos was immobile and any movement would have his airway crushed.

If he weren't so scared, he might have been insulted at the nickname he was unceremoniously given.

 _And that's why I didn't want to go to public school._

He was certain he would have had to put up with a lot of other horrible names because of his bi-colored hair. To add salt to the wound, the boy was also munching on food he obviously stole.

With one muscular arm around himself, the boy had continued to chew loudly on the bright orange vegetable, not looking a bit perturbed; as if he wasn't holding Carlos hostage.

"I like this thing, what is it?" the boy asked with a mouth full of food, curiously looking at it from different sides.

Carlos winced, finding it particularly disgusting to see half chewed food with bits and pieces escaping as he talked.

"It's called a 'carrot' Jay," a feminine voice informed him, a purple haired girl came into the room, cradling a book and only half paying attention to what her companion was doing.

Carlos froze when he realized who it was, he hadn't recognized her voice as he had never been close enough to ever hear her speak.

He cursed the gods as this was not how he imagined their first meeting, trapped under a massive boy's foot. He also didn't imagine that she would be so cavalier to his predicament.

Although he was basically being held against his will, he couldn't help but feel she looked lovely as the sunlight hit her shining purple hair and as she read what looked to be one of his science books.

It seemed she was done readying as she quickly snapped the book shut and looked directly at him, eyeing him up and down. She went to stand next to her friend, her head barely coming to his shoulder.

 _Doesn't she know any short people?_

It seemed she was always around tall muscular men, it started to grate on his nerves.

"Well, this is not the best first impressions but that's a luxury we don't really get on the Isle. I am Maleficent, this is Jay. You may call me Mal," she started cordially enough with introductions. "As you can see, my friend is rather large and he doesn't just look strong, he **is** strong. Strong **and** fast. So after we let you up, you're not going to do anything dumb like say, try to run away or attack, will you?"

He of course shook his head "no," at least as much as he could with Jay's foot still on his throat. He didn't think anyone would be dumb enough, even Jason and Harry—the two sons of his late mother's henchmen—, to try to harm the heiress to the Isle.

Maleficent would not grant a short merciful death; anyone on the Isle who would be moronic enough to harm the precious heiress would probably find themselves suffering for days, if not months.

"Good," she said brightly, and with a wave of her hand, Jay had let off the pressure and stood back.

Carlos swallowed hard, his throat a little tender but no worse for wear. He rubbed his throat to ease some of the ache and brought himself up so he was at least upwards. He kept sitting on his bed, taking a submissive position and hoping neither had nefarious reasons for visiting his home.

He had worried something would happen to his uncle, he never thought he would have to worry about the attention of Maleficent on himself.

"So, you're clearly a de Vil," the fae started off, still studying him; trying to figure out what to make of him. The white and black hair of de Vil was notorious all throughout Auradon and the Isle, some wondered if it was a mark of fairkind blood somewhere in the family. As far as Mal was aware, none of them had every claimed so.

"What's your name?"

"Carlos," he replied, his voice a little rough from the mistreatment of his throat and still bogged with sleep.

She had known there was another person in the Warehouse. Not specifically a teen boy her age, but someone else. She could always feel his eyes on her whenever she came around for taxes.

"I didn't know Paulie had a son."

"Paulie?" he had fantasized what their first conversation would be, this wasn't it.

"Oh, just a little nickname I gave him. Annoys him, I find it funny," she smiled impishly. "What do you call him? Father?"

"He's not my father, he's my uncle. And I just call him P.H."

"How is he your uncle?" Jay asked, confused as to how Carlos could be here if P.H. wasn't his father. He didn't know of any other de Vils on the Isle. He walked away from the bed and started to nose around the room, taking liberty to inspect anything he wanted. If Carlos wasn't so nervous, he'd be rather annoyed.

"His mother was Cruella," Mal informed him.

"Who?"

"You know…Cru-ell-a de Vil, Cru-ell-a de Vil, if she doesn't scare you, no evil thing will…" she sang the infamous song, trying to jog his memory.

Carlos grimaced, he had heard the song his first day of school. It was another reason why he chose not to attend. While the story of his mother might be well known, he hated that was all anyone knew of her.

He didn't believe anyone was all evil, even Maleficent and Jafar had loved their children; at least from what he could tell. Cruella might have loved him too, if she had the chance. He was grateful for P.H., at least he knew that his mother was an iconic designer and loved fur. He would imagine that maybe if she had lived, they could have bonded over clothes. He fantasized that she would have made outfits just for him, would have taught him how to make sketches and while he didn't really have a passion for creating outfits, he certainly would have been proud to wear anything she would have made for him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jay again denied having any idea who Cruella de Vil was, clearly a villainess before his time. Mal just rolled her eyes and moved on.

"The real question is, why are you hidden? I've never seen you in school…or anywhere else for that matter."

And she has been around the Isle enough to basically know everyone. As her mother's heiress and second in command, knowledge was power and she wasn't all too happy that there was a hidden child of a notorious villain she didn't know about.

She also had been around long enough to know there were villains worse than others, and hiding a handsome boy away set off alarms.

He struggled to come up with an excuse that didn't reveal their inventions, although he was certain they had seen plenty; Jay certainly helped himself to their garden.

Mal saw his hesitance as proof of abuse. She crouched down so she was eye level with him, and he was rendered speechless at how soft and worried she looked. Her eyes were a deep jade with veins of gold, he found himself getting lost in their beauty.

"Are you safe here?"

"What?" he was confused by the question and he couldn't concentrate when she used such a soothing tone and she had such pouty lips.

"Do you need our help? Is your uncle keeping you here against your will?"

She reached a hand to gently cover his own, trying to convey that he didn't need to be scared of them.

 _Ohhh…..she's touching me. She's really touching me…her hands are so soft._

He knew he really ought to answer but he still wasn't sure what she was talking about.

"Against my will?" he questioned once it finally got through to him what she was asking.

 _Why would my uncle keep me against my will?_

Jay lost patience with Mal walking on eggshells around the issue,

"She wants to know if he's fucking you."

" **Thank you** , Jay," she huffed at her friend, not wanting to traumatize the boy.

"You're welcome," he replied cheekily. He didn't think the kid was being abused, Mal couldn't see that she was rendering Carlos a blathering idiot and if he were abused then Jay doubted he would be as love struck.

"What?! **NO** …gods no…eww…he's my uncle…it is not like that **at all** …he has never… **I have never** …"

He turned tomato red and couldn't look at her when he realized what he just admitted.

Mal had never seen someone get so flustered, it was rather adorable.

"OK, then why hide you away?"

"I don't want to be some mob boss's flunky," Carlos immediately said, wanting to clear his uncle's name although in hindsight he wished he had thought that through.

"Ah," she understood him perfectly, putting it all together. "You **are** a smart one. I assume the garden is your invention?"

He kept quiet as he had figured he had said too much already.

"I know Paulie wouldn't eat a real vegetable if he could help it. He loves to regale us with all the 'junk food' he misses from the Mainland when I come collecting."

He knew exactly what she was talking about as that was his uncle's main gripe about the Isle to him as well. Carlos was certain P.H. would have had died of a heart attack a long time ago if he only ate whatever he could catch and smother with salt or fat.

"And the generator? All the lights and contraptions, the hidden stairs, are all of those yours too?"

He really wished that he and P.H. had come up with some sort of plan, other than running away which turned out to be a complete bust, for if he were ever confronted. He didn't know how to explain any of it and all he could think of was his future under Maleficent's heel. That's if she didn't punish them both severely for holding out on her.

"She asked you a question," Jay growled and started to walk aggressively towards the bed, not liking how the boy was so quiet and seeing it as disrespect.

"It's alright Jay…I don't think he's had much socialization. Well the answer to that is to have us over for dinner," although she was smiling, Carlos couldn't help the chill that ran through his body. This was not a friendly "get to know you" dinner and he started to become sick with worry as to what it meant.

Jay was just as confused and he did a double take when she suggested it.

"Dinner?" Carlos asked, not sure he heard her correctly. He had always imagined what it'd be like to treat the heiress to dinner but like every other fantasy he had, it was nothing like the reality.

"Yes, we are going to have dinner here, tonight—as soon as night sets. You have plenty of food, make enough for five; we will be bringing another guest. I'll bring the drinks, Evie will bring the pie."

Jay's jaw tightened, clearly unhappy but unwilling to go against Mal.

"I…" Carlos had nothing.

"Perfect. We'll see you tonight. We'll let ourselves out."

With a friendly little wave of her fingers, she left and Jay had followed suit.

"Oh Carlos," she half turned, and stopped before she was out the door.

He stood at full attention, his mind whirling with what he would tell P.H. and what to even serve. What would the heiress of the Isle like?

"I do not recommend trying to flee…I would be most… **disappointed** …do you understand?"

He understood the threat load and clear.

"Yes, Drachenkind," he said respectfully as he bowed his head.

"Oh, I do like the sound of that coming from you," she winked and smiled. Both she and Jay left, Carlos let out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding in; he crumbled back onto his mattress, relieved he had survived his first encounter with Mal but wondering what it all meant.

"P.H. is going to freak out…" he groaned into his hands.

* * *

Mal and Jay walked into the dim midday sun, the light never all that bright on the Isle. Once they had left the warehouse and were on a deserted road back to Bargain Castle, Jay finally questioned Mal's intent.

"What are we doing? Do we really trust potentially mad scientists to feed us? And why bring Evie into it?"

"They're not the mad scientists we're looking for," she asserted, she had figured that out as soon as they got to the second floor.

"How do you know? We barely got a good look around the warehouse, you were too distracted by Freckled Beauty there."

Mal rolled her eyes,

"The warehouse is too exposed, too open. If they're the culprits, then they're not killing in their home. And maybe call it fae intuition but I just don't get that sense from P.H. or Carlos. But maybe you're right, that's why we'll go back and question P.H. ourselves."

"Why bring Evie into it? If they're the sick fucks who did that to those kids…"

"Jay," she turned to her friend and held his head in her hands so he was solely focused on her. "I wouldn't put Evie in danger. I know you get really pissy when your not-girlfriend is in any kind of distress."

Now it was Jay's turn to roll his eyes.

"But in the likely event I'm totally right, then I may have a solution to her problem. So just trust me, steal a host gift for P.H. and Carlos, and have a nice dinner. OK?"

He still wasn't totally convinced but he trusted Mal and nodded his acquiescence, he was also willing to try anything to help the Madam's daughter.

"Good," she said, in a chipper mood when unexpected helpful avenues presented themselves just in the nick of time.

They went a few feet back towards the heart of town and Jay suddenly wondered out loud,

"What in hades is a 'host gift'?"

* * *

Thanks for reading and please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you Sasha2702 so much for reviewing!

* * *

P.H. took the news of the dinner party as well as Carlos had thought he would.

Meaning he didn't.

"Teenagers! In my house! You're letting in thuggish teenagers into my house," he howled when he got back from his summons. He was confused as Maleficent had asked irrelevant questions about his waste collecting duties; it certainly was a waste of her time as well as his.

He was incensed when he found out it was some distraction plot in order to break into his home, more so when his nephew was found out and so were all their inventions. He had started to race around the warehouse, trying to figure out what they could take and what they could leave when they escaped to the woods.

P.H. was in such a state that he didn't hear Carlos repeatedly try to tell him they couldn't run. It wasn't until the teen grabbed his panicking uncle and shook him that P.H. finally paid attention.

"We can't leave, they'll be here before we could head out. We can't leave while it's still light…we just have to have the dinner and see what they want."

"What they want?" P.H. incredulous that Carlos was not as panicked as he, clearly the heiress had only evil and nefarious designs for them. "Carlos, this is Maleficent II, her mother killed everyone who opposed her not days after stepping foot on his godsforsaken island. She saw the generator, she saw the garden. She knows we have been withholding tribute; clearly she wants to punish us and take us hostage to do her and her mother's evil bidding."

Carlos was glad that he didn't inherit that particularly dramatic gene that P.H. seemed to have.

"Uncle," he tried to reason with the upset scientist. "If they wanted to do all of that, they could have taken me when they were here. It would have been easier, and certainly smarter, to have taken me to Bargain Castle and instructed others to confiscate the garden and generator. You said you saw Mal and Jay before you left Maleficent, did you not?"

P.H. had forgotten that he had told Carlos what happened, too shaken to think clearly.

"That would have been a better time to arrest you, not hours later when we could come up with other plans to escape; they want to speak with us."

P.H. found it annoying when the teen was making so much sense. They were clearing missing something, while Carlos was correct that it would have been easier and smarter to have arrested them immediately, neither could think of **why** the heiress would want to speak with them over dinner.

If they couldn't divine her motive, then they couldn't plan accordingly to outmaneuver her.

"She also made it very clear to not try to escape," the teen warned his uncle, not that they could make a clean getaway during daylight hours anyway. Not unless they wanted to abandon their inventions, which would make it moot as they doubted they would be able to survive long in the harsh island wilderness without a dependable source of food and clean water. They may have been on the outskirts of town, it would still be rather obvious if they tried to cart off with such large burdens. They also didn't have enough time to dissemble everything carefully either, so they were left with no choice but to be hospitable.

While P.H. saw the practicality of doing what Mal wanted, that didn't stop him from complaining the whole time. Especially since Carlos insisted that they make the apartment spotless for their "guests." He only half paid attention when he took a rag and started to "dust," watching his nephew flit around like a hummingbird, cleaning and getting everything together.

He didn't see anything wrong with the apartment as it was, they were rather clean people by nature. Mal and her thug also had already been by their home, so it wasn't as if they were going to be surprised or disgusted when they came back a couple hours later.

Carlos paid no mind to his uncle's suspicious looks, he was too busy preparing dinner and making sure their apartment was presentable. They were also having a third guest over, one he had not heard of and didn't know. While he was being strong armed into this dinner, part of him was excited to meet new people; especially when those people were his age.

As much as he loved P.H., he got lonely and was starved for company.

Part of him was also nervous; the girl he had been pining over for the good part of three years was going to be in his home…again. He wanted to make a better impression and show her he was not just some simple minded shut in that didn't have his wits about him.

He couldn't shake off the image of her kind eyes and gentle hands when she thought his uncle was hurting him. P.H. may think Maleficent and her crew were nothing but mobsters, Carlos saw them as survivors that did what they had to do in a harsh environment but still managed to keep some compassion. If they were as heartless as P.H. thought they were, he was pretty sure that they'd both be in shackles at Bargain Castle.

Sometimes he thought his uncle was unfair in his judgement of Isle citizens. He didn't know how P.H. could expect Auradon like rules and decorum when the Mainland had banished them and left them to rot. It was easy to be civilized when the citizens had everything at their disposal; the fact that P.H. had a word for a type of food that had no nutritional value and was solely meant for enjoyment rather than subsistence, if that didn't show the disparity of resources between the Isle and the Mainland, he wasn't sure what would. While he didn't **like** how cruel the islanders could be, he understood it. He didn't know how kind or compassionate he would be if he was constantly hungry and on alert for danger. He was very much aware of how much he had growing up compared to the other children.

It sometimes haunted him how easily he could have been another angry Isle child.

Although his uncle grumbled the entire time, P.H. was somewhat placated at the promise of pie. He was further gratified to know Carlos was making his favorite dish, roasted rabbit that had been freshly caught and fried in its own fat. They could use the bones later for broth and sell the skin to tanners. The dinner would not be a total waste.

The elder scientist's eyes widened in delight when he saw the impressive spread that Carlos had laid out, but they quickly narrowed in suspicion; why was his nephew trying so hard? Such a feast usually reserved for their birthdays. At first he thought the boy nervous, worried that his fate would soon be in the hands of the dark fae and would live his life toiling away at her whim.

But Carlos didn't seem anxious, at least not for his life. The teen seemed worried over trivial things like placement settings and other trappings of making a good impression; but not an impression towards a potential jailer.

It wasn't until Carlos had gone to bathe, which he had already done that morning, and came back with slicked back hair—something Carlos had literally never done before—and the best clothes he owned did it dawn on P.H. what was going on.

 _Oh gods, the boy is peacocking._

He couldn't help the dramatic roll of his eyes or the slumping of his shoulders.

 _Gods save me from oversexed teenagers. Them and their filthy hormones are going to be stinking up the place._

He couldn't help but feel he failed somewhere along the way of raising him, clearly the boy had no real sense of self-preservation if he found himself infatuated with such dangerous people. Carlos was still hyper-focused on making sure everything was perfect that he didn't hear his uncle's melodramatic sighs of disappointment.

P.H.'s line of thinking was disrupted with the sound of knocking. His regret was replaced with irritation that those Isle brats had figured out their secret entrance. Carlos had started to slightly panic,

"I still have my apron on, they can't see me like this," he ran quickly away to get off the offending garment and did some last minute grooming.

P.H. was certain that his eyes were going to roll out of his head, but he had mercy on his nephew and went to get the door while Carlos smooth out invisible wrinkles and worried about how he looked.

When P.H. opened the door he saw three rather good looking young adults his nephew's age, all three radically different from the other but each well-formed and gorgeous in their own way.

"I guess I see what the fuss is about," he said dismissively instead of greeting them politely. His eyes traveled each of them, wondering which Carlos was enamored with. He was met with raised eyebrows and confused faces, none of them expecting such a reception.

Mal recovered first, used to P.H.'s quirks.

"Always the class act Paulie," she then forced her way in as P.H. had hoped that blocking the doorway and not formally inviting them in would somehow repel them.

Jay and their blue haired companion had followed suit, but at least the latter had the graciousness to look embarrassed, said "excuse me," and smiled at him.

Carlos was waiting for them in the living room, sans apron and hair still coiffed, and welcomed them to their home.

"Welcome, please make yourself comfortable," he said graciously, Mal was rather impressed at the effort he put in; particularly since she had forced his hand. It was clear that the boy was making an effort, unlike his uncle who would only allow them into his home begrudgingly and with bad grace.

She couldn't help but notice how fetching Carlos looked in black, white, and a dash of red; his curly hair tamed, vastly different that when she caught him in his bed.

 _I wonder if his hair looks that wild every time he wakes up?_

She couldn't help the roguish smirk that graced her lips as she sauntered up to him. He blushed becomingly at her attention and had to look away else he would become completely flustered.

"Thank you Carlos, please accept this wine as my gratitude for having us over."

It seemed she was determined to pretend they had a choice in the matter, he was willing to play along as well; it would certainly make for a more comfortable evening.

 _Maybe she really does want to help socialize me._

He was about to accept the unlabeled bottled and a thanks on his lips before,

"No," P.H. said and intercepted the bottle before Carlos could take it. "I will be the one to accept gifts."

Somewhere in the back of his mind, the teen had recalled his uncle's warning about how to deal with fae.

 _ **First**_ **, be aware that names have power, so when conversing with them, give yourself a nickname to use, or don't say any name.**

Well he had already failed that part, he had told her his name without even thinking of anything else. He would blame being newly awoken and being distracted by her beautiful eyes.

 _ **Second**_ **, never say "thank you" to a faery. Never give any impression of a debt owed.**

 _ **Third**_ **, do not accept anything that is edible made by faeries because consuming anything fairkind made might result in binding yourself to the fae. It's best to politely decline.**

 _ **Fourth**_ **, most Fae abide by a strict etiquette; politeness and regards to being unoffending is rather crucial. Since they can hold grudges for a very long time, exercise caution when speaking to them or refusing something.**

 _ **Finally**_ **, when accepting gifts, be knowledgeable that some faerie gifts could come with unforeseen side effects. If you are concerned, either accept them then destroy it, or cleanse with salt water.**

"Tha…," he first stared out of habit but then remembered the rules. "The wine is appreciated," stuttered out, not actually expecting that she would bring anything.

Mal was impressed, he managed to be polite without an admittance to who was appreciative. P.H. seemed to have taught him well when dealing with fae.

Jay came up next, unsure of his own gift and still confused as to why he had to bring one. But Mal had given an order and he would follow through.

"Thanks for havin' us," he said tersely and shoved an ornate brass vase at P.H., filled with wildflowers.

It was rather beautiful and P.H. could appreciate the social niceties that he had missed from being in Auradon. If he didn't know any better, he thought it may be an actual dinner party.

"Wow, …this looks beautiful and will be treasured."

"Pfft…" he snickered, "I'm not fae dude…I stole it from Lady Tremaine."

It was a little unnerving how cavalier the boy was at admitting he stole the vase, but Carlos figured he would have P.H. return it tomorrow. He still appreciated the sentiment and would thank him.

"And let me introduce you to Evilette Von Weither," Mal introduced their companion.

She was another beautiful girl with such unique coloured hair—a mark of fairkind blood—Carlos had not seen her before and was surprised that P.H. wouldn't have at least mentioned her in passing as he had made regular trips into town.

She had smiled shyly and slowly made her way towards the two hosts, it seemed she was also in need of socialization as he didn't think she was in her element.

"Thank you for having me, please call me 'Evie.' I brought pie."

That certainly made P.H. perk up and he took massive dessert from her.

Carlos was pretty sure the rule about not eating anything a fae made was not going to be adhered to for the pie. Sweets were P.H.'s fatal weakness.

"Well dinner smells delicious," Mal cordially complimented.

"Thank you, it's roasted rabbit with carrots, turnips, and garlic. . .hope no one's a vampire," Carlos joked and was glad that at least Evie had snorted with laughter.

Mal had smiled indulgently, but Jay and P.H. had rolled their eyes at the lame joke.

 _At least someone thinks I'm funny._

Carlos wasn't sure what else to do other than seat everyone and serve dinner. They didn't have anything as rare or fancy as glass goblets, but at least they had enough ceramic cups to pour the wine into. He was rather curious as he had never had it, they had a boiler to disinfect water and a charcoal sieve to filter. P.H. never seemed to have a desire for alcohol, so neither had built a liquor distiller; he knew most of the Isle drank a mild ale or wine as there was no water processing plants and tainted water could kill just as easily as starvation. He wasn't sure how they were going to handle the wine, P.H. might have accepted it on their behalf, but that was different from drinking it.

"Well this looks wonderful Carlos. Handsome and can cook, I am impressed," Mal had flirted, she so enjoyed to make him blush.

He was fairly certain she was being facetious when she had said the dinner party was to help socialize him, but part of him thought he needed it because he was rendered speechless and flustered so easily by the beautiful heiress.

"Paulie, do you like my nail polish?" she said seemingly randomly before they had dug into their food. She daintily rapped her fingers on the table, her nails sparkled as the candle light caught them at different angles.

"I have no opinion of it," he replied suspiciously, knowing with the fae there was no such thing as an innocuous conversation.

"Oh, but you must have some opinion. Look how it shimmers, it is rather beautiful and unique don't you think? Evie is rather talented with chemistry and botany; she made it especially for me."

He remained silent as Mal was not the type to have such a vapid conversation for no reason. Jay had looked neutral but Evie was rather tense, not especially happy her name was invoked but the de Vils figured there was a point to this line of conversation.

"The effect is created from the Medusa fern, the sap from its leaves has a mica like property…are you familiar with this plant P.H.?"

Carlos became tense when Mal dropped the annoying nickname, hoping that the evening had not taken a dark turn.

"I am."

"Well then you know that one little nick can cause total paralysis, even of the lungs, in humans. It's a rather slow and terrifying death…but it has no effect whatsoever on fae, isn't that interesting?"

"It certainly is."

"Jay, how is the food?"

The boy hadn't waited for anyone else to start eating, he already had taken several bites while Mal had talked.

"It's all delicious, I think you should have some."

The fae smiled wider, her point had gotten across and Evie had breathed out in relief.

Mal may be the heiress to the Leadership of the Isle, but she didn't survive as long as she had by assuming every cute innocent looking boy that came along was actually harmless. She had a loyal enough second that could test the food and was resilient enough to survive most poisons.

"Well then, lets eat. To new friendships," she toasted and took a sip from her cup, Evie following suit to show that they too had not come as hostile guests and did not poison the wine.

P.H. was not happy to be threatened in his own home, but perhaps he understood that she was used to dealing with much more unfriendly and murderous people. Carlos was still unsure of drinking the wine, P.H. made no movement to drinking it himself.

"Do not worry about the wine, I did not make it myself. It is from a human vintner."

With that, both had taken experimental sips; neither sure if they could trust her at her word, they also couldn't keep declining without appearing rude. They relaxed when all they tasted was the sweet wine, there were no other effects that would signify fae influence.

Soon the subtle threats were forgotten when they had started to dine in earnest. Carlos appreciated how much the three guests really liked his food, normally P.H. only cared for meat or something sweet and ate the vegetables at the last possible moment. The teens had loved everything and were not shy about telling him so. He had relaxed enough to really enjoy the wine, it was honeyed and robust, spiced with anise and cinnamon.

He wondered where they had gotten such exotic spices as they were not native to the island. P.H. looked suspicious, as he also knew what luxury the wine was and how hard it was to come by, even for the heiress of the island.

But his nephew had thought it was a generous gift and loved it, he proceeded to tell them all he knew about the fermentation process.

"On the Mainland, their preferred way to make wine is with grapes, not apples or wild strawberries. One of the oldest processes is through malolactic fermentation…"

Evie listened with rapt attention, always eager to learn new things. Mal had followed along and Jay mostly just helped himself to seconds.

"Carlos, you may want to slow down. You are not used to wine," his uncle told him gently as the teen had finished off his second glass and went further into the history of winemaking and his speech became quicker.

He felt rather warm and giddy, so he wasn't sure why his uncle thought he needed to slow down but he trusted him and started to drink water. He still went on about what he knew about wine, a book on the history of vinification had been donated, because it was super interesting and he found that he couldn't stop once he started.

Jay was rather bored and still didn't know why they were there. In any other situation, they would have reported the two to Maleficent and let her mete out punishment. The de Vils had such a cushy set up and clearly could have given more tribute. For some reason Mal was inclined to go easy on them and he didn't know why.

He especially didn't know why Evie was brought into it. He would jump at any chance to spend time with the blue haired girl; he thought she looked particularly stunning that night as she had braided her hair for the occasion. She rarely got out to meet people as her mother, the once "Evil Queen" Ravanna, wanted to guard her virtue. The witch had only ever trusted Mal, not only because she was the heiress and second most feared person on the Isle but the daughter of a close business partner. It was in everyone's interest that Evie be protected.

Supposedly Mal had a solution to Evie's problem, he just didn't know what and his friend was being annoyingly mum about it.

He grew even more uninterested when the conversation diverged into school and plans for the week.

Jay wasn't the only one bored, although he was more likely to keep quiet about it. P.H. had hit that dangerous spot of buzzed enough from the wine to loosen his already untactful tongue and inhibitions but not gone enough where he'd be incoherent or brushed off as drunk.

"As eager as I am to dig into this delicious looking and hopefully un-poisoned pie, is there a reason for this dinner or am I really going to suffer through more of all this 'small talk?'"

Carlos nearly choked on his water, he had never heard his uncle be so rude; perhaps the wine was a bad idea.

"I am so sorry…" he began, hoping the heiress didn't take so much offense that they were bound for Bargain Castle.

"No, it's rather alright. I thought we were having a lovely dinner but Paulie likes to get to the point, I can respect that. Fine. As you know, Fleur de Pomme is…"

"I knew it! You're going to take him away from me. Well you can't have Carlos. I'm not about to let you sell his virginity to the highest bidder and pimp him out for the rest of his life at that brothel!" P.H. almost frothed at the mouth in rage, the table shaking from his anger as he slammed his cup down.

Carlos wondered if he jumped out the window, would it be high enough to kill him on impact or would he just break several bones and suffer for months if not years to recover.

From Mal's bewildered reaction to P.H.'s outburst, he thought it may not matter as nothing could be more painful than that humiliating moment.

It didn't help that Jay had burst out laughing and didn't seem he would be stopping anytime soon.

Evie just kind of looked to the side, pretending nothing had happened; only the blush that started to dominate from her throat to her cheeks gave away her own embarrassment.

"Although that's one idea…and I'm sure he would garner a lot of coin," Mal couldn't resist teasing him, it was so easy. "It's not his virginity I'm interested in…at least not at this moment."

Carlos was fairly certain he would be permanently red, his face felt like it was on fire with mortification but partly in shyness when Mal winked at him.

" **Evie** ," Mal went on and emphasized exactly who was the subject of the conversation. "is about to turn seventeen. While her mother had hopes of her nabbing a prince…in some inexplicable scenario…she has given up on that idea and has decided that her daughter needs to join the family business. There will be a silent auction for her virginity in a fortnight. None of us," she motioned to herself, Evie, and Jay. "want that to happen. Not only is she my friend, I feel her talents would be wasted in a brothel. Like I said, she is talented in chemistry and botany. I feel she would better serve the Isle as its apothecarist."

"So what's stopping you?"

"Unfortunately, Ravanna is a close and loyal business partner. Mother isn't willing to intercede on Evie's behalf, even at my behest. She also doesn't see how Evie can't do both, particularly as it's the whores who usually need the most…medication."

Carlos felt there was more to the story, but he was getting rather ill. He didn't know if it was the wine, or the thought of such a sweet girl having to sell her body to the highest bidder. He respected anyone who wanted to work in the sex trade, they all did what they had to survive; but he hated the thought of anyone having to go into it against their will.

"So where do we come in?"

"You have several valuable commodities, commodities that would go a long way in helping the Isle…"

"Don't you mean your mother? I assume she wouldn't just share this technology with everyone out of the goodness of her heart."

"My mother has such a grip on the Isle, isn't it really the same thing? You have this technology, and I assume you can make it on a larger scale…and by assume I mean I'm going to make you do it. I'm not giving you a choice in that, so put that idea to bed. Or any idea of you continuing to keep this technology to yourself. I am, however, giving you a choice to remain anonymous. You don't want to live under my mother's thumb, I don't blame you. You're a disrespectful mouthy asshole, you'd die in a week and we're all no worse off than we were before."

P.H. huffed but he didn't disagree.

"So here's the deal. You teach Evie how to make a generator. A small one, something like you have now, can be smaller. We just need to show my mother that it can be done. Suddenly Evie is too valuable to waste time in the brothel, she's working for my mother and she spends her days creating a larger generator that could power Bargain Castle, the brothel, and whatever other building that can pay for it. It takes however long it takes to build a bigger generator for the public. Mother gets more taxes, Evie is safe, no one finds you guys out. Everyone is happy. Once mother's gratefulness for the generator runs out, Evie then comes up with the brilliant idea of a garden that is supplemented with generated sunlight and no dirt. That tides everyone over for a while longer. Then there is the godsend invention of whatever you came up with that makes this water delicious and safe to drink. You have enough tech here to keep my mother interested in keeping Evie out of the brothel for years. If you happen to never come up with anything ever again, she'd be too old and the Isle darling that gave power, food, and safe water to the Isle. I doubt anyone would make her be a whore and she can 'fall back on' running the apothecary."

P.H. thought it over, wondering what his options really were. Carlos remained quiet, he didn't want to give away that he probably would have helped Evie regardless. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he could have helped and didn't.

Mal was tempted to do more stick than carrot, start to threaten taking Carlos with them to the brothel if they didn't comply as clearly that had always been P.H.'s fear. She meant it when she said the teen would probably fetch a lot of coin, especially for the right of First Night. He was a handsome boy with pretty features; if she were into whores she might have even placed her own bid. But there was something innocent and kind about him, she couldn't help but stare at him and want to help him.

"And besides **not** turning you in for not only hiding someone, which my mother may or may not see as a plot against her and I think you and everyone else is rather familiar with what she does to those who threaten her reign, I'll even sweeten the deal," she decided to give a little to get a lot. "My mother has me oversee all the donations from the Mainland. Technically it's supposed to be distributed to everyone, instead it goes through us and we distribute how we feel is fair."

Which of course meant they took all the best stuff for themselves and sold the rest. It was rather ruthless, to take charity and horde it but that's how things went on the Isle; although part of Carlos wondered if it wasn't at least a little fair for Maleficent to take her portion for keeping law and order on an island full of other villains. He didn't know of anyone else who could have pulled it off, he certainly didn't want to think of what life would be like if it were complete anarchy.

P.H. seemed to be thinking along the same lines as he wasn't refusing Mal outright.

"So when the donations come in, you come with me to take inventory and maybe you get second pick. You can have first pick if you choose items that could further help the island, make more generators or water filtration systems. Things of that nature."

That was rather tempting, they had created so much with whatever was left over from all the top villains and henchmen via rifling through their garbage. If they could have a crack of whatever came in first, then they might have access to all the cast off technology before it's rough handled by henchmen who have no idea of what they're dealing with and some of their idling experiments might come to fruition.

"That's quite the offer…it's a lot to think about…may we have the night to think it over?" P.H. asked after a few moments.

"No."

Mal didn't feel the need to explain herself, they all knew he would take the deal as there wouldn't be another one, or a better one from any other rival villain if he was stupid enough to try to shop his options.

"I think you mistake our 'playful' banter back and forth Dr. de Vil."

Carlos had almost flinched at how cold her voice got.

"I'm not giving you a choice. This is the plan and it's going to happen. And I know you're very clever. You've created this comfortable home, hidden your nephew and kept him safe and well fed and that in itself is impressive. I'm sure if you had the time and really wanted to, you'd figure some way to get out of this situation. Maybe you'd even figure out how to end me. But I'm clever too. And I have loyal people who would be willing to do such horrible things to avenge me. And I think you love Carlos enough that you wouldn't risk his life or his virtue. So say 'yes,' shake my hand, and make the deal."

P.H. swallowed hard, making a faery deal was not what he was expecting and not something to take lightly. While the barrier prevented magic, there were things even the famous Fairy Godmother could not bind and one was the power of The Deal, something woven into the very existence of all fair and mankind. Faery deals didn't have as much flair as they normally did since they could not wield magic. But Maleficent used them to bind others to her cause and ensure loyalty. In return, she offered protection and food.

But deals were not without their merit. It may bind him to whatever he agreed to with Mal, but it also bound her to him under those same agreements.

So he refused to be kowtowed and thought of what he had as leverage: he already had food and protection was already bought with their taxes. Their inventions were worth much more than simply keeping quiet about withholding tribute. Carlos was another engineering prodigy, Maleficent may be angry that he was hidden but if she were to keep Evie then she could as easily keep Carlos. So whatever threats of keeping him in a brothel were most likely bluffs. P.H. decided to be smart about whatever deal he would make.

"Fine, but in addition to keeping Carlos secret, I want help getting letters to the Mainland."

Mal raised her eyebrow, not expecting that response.

"I know your mother still has sway over the goblins, it's one of the reasons she came to power and has first look at all the donations. I want them to smuggle letters."

"To what end?" she wondered why he would want to send letters, no one on the Mainland cared what happened to villains. Furthermore, there was no way any of them would get clemency from the Crown. They were all stuck on the Isle and there wasn't anything to do about it.

"I will write to the de Vil matriarch, Malevola. I will tell her of Carlos' existence and she will get him off this godsforsaken island."

"P.H…" Carlos started, he had no idea his uncle would ask for such a thing and had no idea how to even react.

"I haven't been able to do much for you Carlos, but I believe this could work," he looked to his nephew with regretful eyes, forgetting they had guests. "The de Vils have many faults, but we take care of our own. You do not deserve to be here, and I have shielded you from a life influenced by villains. That has to mean something to the Crown and I know Malevola will use the de Vil fortune to help you. Cruella was her heiress and favorite, she will take you in."

Some mad part of Carlos didn't want to go, didn't want to leave his uncle and everything he knew.

"But…"

"No 'but' Carlos. The hellspawn is right,"

All three of their guests frowned at his description of Mal and Carlos knew she hadn't lied when she said P.H. probably would have died within a week of service.

"…there is no changing the Crown's mind about those they banished. But they didn't banish you, at least not directly. I'm sure Malevola can find some unscrupulous but competent barrister to take the case. It may not happen right away, but I believe it could happen eventually; maybe a year or two."

"OK, I can make that deal," Mal cut in, Carlos still trying to process what had happened.

P.H. almost wanted to take the deal back, the teen fae had agreed to it too quickly. But it was the best one he would ever get from anyone else and it would help Carlos. Without another word, he took her hand and they shook on it.

He felt the power of The Deal buzzing through his body as if blood had rushed through it after falling asleep. The rules that made up the fabric of the universe sealed his fate and he was now bound to his word to Mal and by extension, Maleficent.

Carlos felt his stomach drop, things were happening too quickly and he just wanted to yell at them to stop and beg Mal to let him talk to his uncle. But it was too late, the deal was made and now P.H. was beholden to rules that both gods and man yielded to.

"Alright, what time should we be here tomorrow? Evie's tutelage should start as soon as possible," Mal wasted no time in invoking the contract.

" **We**?" P.H. asked, not believing more than Evie was part of the agreement.

"Ravenna does not allow Evie out of her sight without guards. I'm also not keen on leaving her alone with two strange men."

P.H. was rather offended at the insinuation that he couldn't be trusted around a young girl and on behalf of Carlos for the same reason, but then he remembered he was on the Isle and people were garbage in general so he accepted it grudgingly.

"We do rubbish collection at night…the generator runs off of organic waste, you'll learn more about that tomorrow. From around eleven to about sunrise, we sleep during the morning. Is mid-afternoon alright?"

"That's actually perfect, I have a similar schedule at the brothel…I make tonics, cook, clean, and do laundry," Evie offered and quickly explained herself, not wanting him to think she had any other type of job.

P.H. softened when instead of another one of Mal's thugs, he saw a scared young girl who did not want to sell her body; her shy ways and clever eyes reminded him of Carlos and how it could have easily been his nephew if he were not there or by a crueler twist of fate.

Perhaps he had judged the fae too harshly; while it was at his expense, he could respect that Mal was simply helping her friend from a destiny he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy. And the deal wasn't without his own advantages. She could have easily just forced him to do it with violence, Jay looked rather up to the challenge. He had always wanted a way to get Carlos away from the island, but most ideas involved cozying up to Maleficent and he didn't think any deal would be worth that. Mal's blackmail had proven a way to get fae favor and only having to deal with the lesser of the two evils.

With the deal done, they all enjoyed the pie, P.H. especially who had almost cried tears of joy, and more small talk. He was surprised that the teens could keep conversation flowing so easily, never bringing up their less than honest dealings on the island; Carlos was clearly having a wonderful time getting to know them, he was freely able to talk of his inventions and seemed to get on well with Evie.

Part of his heart broke at how carefree Carlos was, he fully started to see how the years of isolation had starved the boy of companionship. In another, kinder, life he could see the four being best of friends, all hanging out on a school night doing homework and going to the local high school. Still, he was not sure if he would have done anything differently. Villains and their children would not be good influences; he could not hope to send his nephew to Auradon if the boy had grown to be a thief or henchman. He only prayed that Carlos did not pick up any bad habits before he was rescued.

The teens finally left and while they cleaned up, Carlos paused and just stared at his uncle. The wonderful man who raised him and sacrificed his freedom trying to save a beloved cousin. The de Vils were wealthy, he could have lived a life of leisure and invented to his heart's content in luxury. He could have left the poor parentless child to the orphanage, lived in seclusion and probably never have to deal with Maleficent.

While P.H. was busy cleaning up, he was surprised to be interrupted by Carlos giving him a hug, gripping him tightly as if he never wanted to let go. Realizing just how emotional the day had been, he had returned the hug with just as much fervor. He loved his nephew and as hard as it would be to see him go, he knew it was for the best and would make sure he could have the best life he could.

That life was away from the Isle.

"I don't know what I would do without you," Carlos admitted to his fear for the future but also his appreciation, he never thought he would be parted from his uncle.

His nephew had gone through a growth spurt, he remembered when he was so little and could be easily held in his arms and carried around. Now he was taller than him and probably would grow some more. He was thankful they were able to grow the garden and eat well, the harsh Isle life had not stunted his growth as all de Vils were tall people, Cruella in particular.

He cupped his hands around Carlos' face, guided his head down so he may give his forehead an affectionate kiss.

"I am so proud of you," P.H. whispered, choking up on the thought of their departure, even if it may be years in the future. The exile, having to deal with Mal and Maleficent, everything was worth it if he could save Carlos. He felt that he had failed Cruella. The family had lost the case to save her from banishment, he failed to free her, and although there was probably nothing to be done because of lack of medical care on the Isle and it was not his expertise—he felt that he had failed her when she had died of child bed fever.

He would do right by his cousin, he would see her son take his rightful place in Auradon.

A similar occurrence was going on a several yards away from the warehouse. The trio were well fed and jovial; all three high with happiness.

"OK, I'll give it to you Mal, this is a rather ingenious plan," Jay admitted as they walked home.

"Wait, what was that? I didn't quite hear you," she joked as she cupped her ear and wanted Jay to repeat that she was right. He simply pushed her playfully for being so obnoxious.

Evie couldn't stop thinking about how well this could all work out. Not only would she avoid being sold to whatever disgusting henchman that wanted her, she would be furthering her studies under one of the more prestigious scientists that was banished. She wasn't an engineer, but she was certain she could learn enough to fake it. And she had hoped that maybe with their help, she could start to make distillers to create tinctures and elixirs for her future apothecary. With her knowledge of plants and chemistry, she was certain they could create something just as useful as a generator or dirt-less garden.

Most knew the story of P.H. de Vil. The only non-villain scientist that occupied the Isle, she had never even heard of anyone even referring to him as "mad." He was banished because he had tried to help his cousin, something completely unheard of. Even the wealthy nobles had no one vouch for them or try to free them. When she heard her mother gossiping about the strange and elusive scientists, she had done it with derision; other had mocked him for being sentimental and foolish. Evie had no memory of Cruella, she had died before she was born. Most had forgotten about her, the few that remembered her only said the woman was mad, and not the useful scientific kind either.

Evie thought P.H. was brave and honorable, loving his cousin so much that he risked banishment. She didn't know of anyone on the Isle, save Mal and Jay, who would have done anything so self-less for another person. She could only hope that someone would love her so much to risk so much.

Mal and Jay came pretty close; she snuck a peak at the handsome half djinn and wondered why he was going along with the plan.

 _Mal's my friend and he's her best friend…she probably told him to help. Mal is the next Leader, she sees me as useful. The Isle certainly needs an apothecarist more than they need another whore._

While she was their friend, she couldn't compete with the years of friendship the two had under their belt. She still felt like a third wheel, she often wondered what they saw in her that they felt she was worthy of their time. Everyone knew that Jay was being groomed to be Mal's second; the two teens were in line to be the two most powerful people on the Isle.

She didn't know why they cared enough to befriend a girl bound for a life on her back, but she was grateful nonetheless.

The gravity of what they were doing suddenly hit her. As much as this would help her, it could also go so wrong if they were found out. Ravenna would certainly be incensed at the deception, everyone kept telling her how much her daughter was bound to make, Evie was considered the fairest in all the Isle. The former queen would complain to Maleficent, the fae would be a terror to behold if she felt she had been duped and made the fool. Mal might be the only one to come out alive; herself, Jay, and the de Vils would probably be put to death for conspiracy and treason.

Certainly Mal and Jay knew this, still they were willing to deceive the most dangerous women on the Isle in order to help her.

Mal and Jay turned around when they noticed Evie had stopped walking. They were worried when she had a faraway look in her eyes and tears threatening to spill.

Jay was baffled, he thought they were all happy and relieved. But whatever was upsetting Evie he would fight and break its knees if only to get her to stop crying.

"Are you alright?" Mal asked, wondering what was going through the blue haired girl's head. She and Jay were surprised when the witch's daughter launched herself at them, hugging them both with all the strength she had.

"I am so grateful for what you're doing for me," she hiccupped and said through some tears.

 _Oh, this is some emotional thing._

Mal was aware of what was going on. She gave the mandatory pat on Evie's back and told her everything was going to be alright. She had no idea if that was true but it usually made people feel better.

There were several seconds that went by, Evie was still holding onto them for dear life and mumbling. It seemed she was the only one who noticed it was an oddly long hug; Jay comfortingly rubbed his hands up and down Evie's back, willing to prolong the embrace for as long as she needed.

Mal slipped from the hug and it seemed neither other teen noticed.

Evie kept rambling on about how thankful she was and the dangers, how lucky she was to have them as her friends.

Despite the enormity of the situation, Mal couldn't help but give Jay shit.

"Oh Jay, you're my hero," she mouthed behind Evie's back, knowing he understood her silent mocking.

He was not amused, his first instinct was to go punch her in the arm but he refused to let Evie go.

The madam's daughter didn't notice Mal's absence; she only knew how safe she felt within Jay's arms.

"Jay, it's you who I want to lose my virginity to and have a dozen long blue haired babies with your dreamy arms."

When Mal made a heart with her hand and had it pumping as if both were so obnoxiously in love, he flipped off his best friend and swore revenge, all the while Evie was oblivious and still sputtering about how she appreciated everything.

Evie had stopped just before Mal started in on obscene and lewd hand gestures, when she finally pulled away and looked at them both; the fae had put on a false face of solemnity,

"Of course Evie, you're our friend. We would do whatever it took to help you."

Evie smiled and Mal thought that perhaps she would have helped her even if Jay wasn't so desperately in love with her.

Jay wondered where he could find a sock full of iron nickels to beat his best friend with, not liking how she looked at Evie.

They walked her home and the madam was none the wiser. While Ravanna worried her daughter's maidenhead might be stolen by either Jay or Mal before she could sell it, she knew Maleficent was good for the money if either had sullied her daughter. She also hoped that when Evie would take over the brothel, she would have powerful friends. Both were respectful and Evie swore on her honor that neither had designs for her virginity and that was good enough for the madam.

They said their goodbyes and as soon as both were out of earshot, Mal started in again,

"Oh Jay, I want **you** to have the right of First Night, I'll rub your lamp all you want," she did a poor impression of Evie and Jay was not having it.

He lunged for the fae but she was quicker, laughing as she dodged his grasp. When he finally caught up to her, he spun her around while she continued to laugh. He started to tickle her,

"Noooo, stoooppp," she squirmed and the continued to wrestle with each other.

"You're a jerk, you know that?" he finally stopped when he had maneuvered them to the ground, she was trapped underneath him.

"I know, I can't help it. It's so painful to see you pine."

"I'm not pining," he whined. "I'm strategically waiting for the best moment."

"And when will that be? You're been 'strategizing' for like a year."

"When she's not traumatized from nearly being sold."

Mal guessed that was a noble and virtuous reason, but she was pretty sure her friend was just being a coward. They had known Evie far longer than when Ravanna had revealed her plans for her daughter; Jay had been in love with Evie basically ever since he met her. But if that was the excuse that got him through the day, she doubted he would admit to it and she wouldn't push.

She then suddenly flipped them and she was now on top,

"Well Prince Charming, you better make a move soon or perhaps I'll try my luck."

"You wouldn't."

"I might…Consort Evie…has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

Jay growled in jealousy and threw Mal off of him, she continued to laugh when he gave chase.

Neither noticed they were being watched from a window of the brothel, Evie sighing at their antics and wondered what they were laughing about.

 _Why would Jay want the daughter of a whore when he could be Consort?_

* * *

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	3. Chapter 3

Although they had an eventful and tiring dinner with Drachenkind and the others, Carlos and P.H. still had a job to do. They would collect rubbish from the main market area of the Isle, some might call it the heart of the city, which was where they got the majority of their fuel.

His uncle once told him the Isle was a fishing port called Castaway Cay, where people made their living either by fishing or working in one of the many canneries. Perhaps if the barrier allowed them access to the water, the island still could have functioned as such. But with no fish to catch, the residents had turned most of the buildings into living areas or shops; most of the office buildings had been converted into brothels.

Before they had created the generator, the town was content to let the filth and garbage pile up; only rats, crows, and flies to feast on what rotted. The main square was always a place of pestilence and death, most stayed only because the dangers of the wild beyond the city were more dangerous still.

P.H. didn't know if the other scientists were that ignorant of anything other than death rays or their specialty or perhaps too proud to take on sanitation, but he had no idea why it had gone on for so long. Thankfully with his background in engineering and his genius nephew they had a way to make the waste into fuel. Whatever they couldn't use as energy or fertilizer and couldn't repurpose and resell was burned.

Although there was not much to be done in such an impoverished area where too many bodies lived in too close of quarters, they had improved the living conditions of the Isle at least minimally. Until Mal had come snooping around, P.H. was somewhat respected by the citizens. He did what most were unwilling to do and it was a boon to them all. They did not know he used their waste for his own benefit, they would probably create a mob if they ever found out he was living so comfortably. But still, he had made their lives just a tiny bit better and all he asked was to be left alone.

He worried that once the generator technology was made public, he would not know a moments peace again. As they readied their rickety wagon, he studied Carlos and worried for his future. It all rested in the word of a small fae girl and a vow made without magic. It could all go so wrong and if it did, he had utterly failed not only Cruella but Carlos who he loved as his own.

They remained quiet as was their custom when they collected garbage, going street by street and building by building although P.H. thought he saw a slight skip in his nephew's step. Some citizens were thoughtful and had put their items in receptacles, others were little better than savages and threw their rubbish right out into the street with no care. They had passed by several of the brothels, most kind enough to neatly place their trash outside for them.

Both took special care with thick linen gloves, the whore houses' waste would mostly be burned. They dared not ask any citizen to sort their garbage lest someone ask why. Because of the biohazardous risks of the brothels, they would not hazard using any of it. But they did not want to ignore the brothels either, they deserved waste management just like every other citizen. They took special care to wear gloves and masks when they handled and burned the trash, their management site well outside the city limits so no one would be in danger of inhaling the fumes.

Although it was nearly pitch black, only the dim light from oil burning lamps to light their way, Carlos still wore a bandana over his tell-tale de Vil hair. Very few people were up that late at night (or early in the morning, depending on who was asked), not even the whores, but any who would look upon them would scant notice. Even if they did, all they would see is a boy of seventeen (if they could guess an age at all), if anyone would ask then P.H. would say it's just an orphan, one of hundreds that he pays in food to help him with his task.

Tomorrow they would teach a girl their secrets to the generator, secrets bought with blackmail and the hope that P.H. could get his beloved nephew off the Isle.

That was a problem for another day, however; that night they would collect garbage to heat their home and grow their garden.

* * *

The next day Evie flittered about her room like a cerulean butterfly, excited to start her lessons. Her mother thought schooling on the Isle in general was a waste of time, but ever since befriending Mal her mother would not let anyone say her own daughter was less educated than the Leader's. She also suspected that Ravenna held fond memories of learning how to read and write, and all the other things a royally born girl would have learned had she not be banished to the Isle.

No one could ever forget that Ravenna had led armies and brought kingdoms to their knees, she stilled walked with a regal air although she could no longer be called queen. Evie knew her mother had thought to make her a whore when she first bled, no one could forego work on the Isle. But once Evie showed to be an excellent pupil, particularly apt at apothecary and chemistry then it was no hard argument that her own daughter ought to be the one to administer teas and tonics. Letting her daughter be educated turned out to be a boon, Ravenna taught her daughter every natural potion she knew as a witch and could make medicines on her own.

So proud of her daughter, she had then started to teach her all the ways of being a lady. For a few years, Ravenna had the mad idea that Evie could seduce a visiting prince (most were still unsure how that would have happened but hope sprung eternal apparently) and make her a princess. Evie had encouraged such dreams, knowing that princesses were expected to be pure and virtuous when they came to their husbands. It didn't matter how ridiculous the notion was, she was not keen to become a whore.

The longer Ravenna thought Evie could snag a prince, the longer she didn't have to make a living on her back. Unfortunately, it seemed her mother had come to her senses within the last year and felt that sixteen was getting too old to not be more of use. Evie could make more money with that she had between her legs than she could with what was in her head. She had gone to Mal and Jay crying, fearful of the auction for the right of First Night and then the years she would spend as a whore. The only reason she even had time was that the men who would bid on her needed the time to accumulate the coin, if it had been later in the year—when the harvest would be ready to be reaped and men had money or crops to bargain with—she would have immediately been put on the auction block. Since it was early spring, most had begun just to put crops to seed. If she were lucky, perhaps her mother would put off the auction even later if the offers were not as high as the Madame thought they ought to be, and they had until the fall.

Evie did not want to spread her legs for any man who had payment, she wanted to read and brew cures. She wanted to continue to learn everything she could about every plant, to make new and better treatments. She wanted to make the Isle a better place and she could not do that as a prostitute.

She was ever so grateful that Mal had come up with a solution to her problem; at least she did if Evie could learn ably enough to trick Maleficent into thinking she had come up with such an invention.

P.H. de Vil was known as an odd duck around the Isle; a scientist who wasn't mad in the traditional sense, but had been just crazy enough to try to rescue his kin. Some saw him as foolish, who would risk their life and freedom for a villainess? All he got for his efforts was his own banishment and a dead cousin soon after. Subsequently, he had kept to himself and became a hermit. He seemed content to live on the outskirts of town; he had never even sought the company of anyone from the brothels.

Evie always thought he was rather brave, she wondered if anyone else on the Isle had someone who had loved them that much. She certainly dreamed of having distant Auradonian family that would demand her release, stating that her only crime being born to a villain and therefore was not worthy of the same punishment. Ravenna had mentioned a brother and sister, but she assumed her aunt and uncle had perished in the Witch Wars—otherwise they would have been banished alongside her mother.

When she found out about Carlos, P.H.'s love and chivalry went even deeper than she could have imagined. She honestly thought he ought to get some sort of medal or one way ticket back to Auradon as he clearly didn't belong on an island full of villains.

Not that she thought she or any of her peers ought to be there either, but that was a long dead hope of getting clemency that she barely ever thought of lest she become bitter and desolate.

But that day she had reason to be hopeful. She would learn something new and hopefully never be forced to become a whore, she would learn under one of the most brilliant inventors in the world.

"OK, I have my notebook, sharpener, pencil, back up pencil, calculator Jay stole for me…alright that should be everything," she took inventory of what she had in her satchel. She met Mal and Jay at the entrance to Fleur de Pomme, Ravenna seeing her out.

The Madame of the house had protected Evie's virtue in hopes of her ensnaring a prince and getting them off the Isle. Then she protected it as a valuable asset to whoever could pay the most. If not for school, then Evie was certain her mother would have kept her locked away and never to see or talk to anyone until it was time for her first customer.

Luckily Ravenna trusted Mal and Jay to protect her interests and if the fae said Evie was needed as their lead scientist while they investigated the deaths of Isle orphans then her word was taken as law.

It always made her sick to her stomach, to see her mother eye Jay as a piece of meat when they all greeted each other cordially. Her mother was still a beautiful woman with soul piercing eyes and golden hair; there had been many men who still sought her bed. When she saw that her mother wanted Jay even when he was only thirteen, she had warned him that if he fell under her spell it would only be for a few nights at most and then he would probably be convinced to become a whore; he was certainly pretty enough and would fetch a decent amount of coin.

It was to her utter relief when he laughed and told her he had no such inclination towards her mother, less so to become a whore; no matter how well it paid.

She knew she had been in love with Jay ever since he stole a calculator and gave it to her because she wanted to learn advanced math, he told her,

"I have no use for it and neither does anyone else here. It ought to go to the smartest girl in all the Isle."

It was the first time someone acknowledged her intelligence before her looks. All her life she had only heard "oh aren't you beautiful?" They kept saying it as if it were a compliment; didn't they know what happened to beautiful girls on the Isle? Every beautiful girl was made to be a whore. To her ears, it sounded like a curse.

He also didn't treat her as the daughter of a whore or as a girl who was a future whore. He treated her as if she were Evie Von Weither, the smartest child on the Isle. Her heart was crushed when he introduced her to Mal, the two clearly close. They had never said they were together, but Evie figured it wasn't smart to declare ones love in such a treacherous place. It certainly wouldn't be smart for the future Leader of the Isle, it would only make Jay a bigger target. But she valued both of their friendship, even if she couldn't be with Jay.

While her mother conspicuously raked her eyes down his form, Evie made it a point to avert her eyes every ten seconds. She feared if she looked any longer, he would know what was in her heart and she'd have to go through the humiliating process of him letting her down gently. She didn't even want to think of what Mal would do to her if she knew she was in love with her boyfriend; she just had to hope they didn't notice how her eyes would always find their way back to him, unable to resist the temptation to see his kind smile or warm eyes.

"I do hope you figure out this nasty…business…soon," Ravenna said to make small talk with Mal, there was no mistaking that she lacked any real empathy or compassion for the orphans they found. "Do be careful my little Evilette," she turned to her daughter, "we don't want you to become sick."

Perhaps if they were in Auradon or if Ravenna was ever a real mother, Evie would have thought the former queen's warning and worry was for her sake. But she knew it was merely a merchant wanting assurance for an asset. Still, there was nothing she could do about it; she couldn't make her mother love her so she just did a half smile and assured,

"I'm always careful. I have gloves, a mask, and some fortifying tonics," she showed her mother a few of the items she had in her satchel; it was enough to placate the madame.

With one last coveting look from Ravenna over Jay, the three said their goodbyes and were on their way to the warehouse. Once out of earshot and eyesight of anyone from town, there was a lightness to Evie's steps and she almost started to skip with her excitement.

Both Jay and Mal smiled at their friend's enthusiasm, probably one of the only teenagers on the entire Isle who had a thirst to learn from books and garnered happiness from her lessons.

"Once I learn how to make the generator, maybe they'll teach me how to make other things, things that would help my future apothecary. That water filtration system and distillation set up they have, that could easily be converted into a distiller for fermentation and alcohol. Do you realize how **sterile** I could get instruments if I had pure ethanol? Maybe we could get the goblins to smuggle over sugar beet seeds. We'd make some drinking alcohol, stronger stuff than the apple wine, and the brothels would probably triple in profits. Maleficent could tax them more, then we'd use that money to fund all these projects. We'd have the means to sterilize equipment, we could build a **real** hospital. Maybe I'd be the Isle's first real doctor as well as the apothecarist. We'd probably be able to cut down on all the infant deaths and women dying from childbed fever. With the hydroponic garden we could grow more food **AND!** " she shouted in her excitement, shocking her two friends and caused them to jump. "...and we could grow even more herbs for tansy tea. No one would have any child they didn't want, it wouldn't have to be just for the brothels it could be for everyone…"

From the brothel to the outskirts of town, Evie had come up with all the ways she was going to save the Isle and make it somewhat hospitable. As she babbled on, Jay fell in love with her just a little more than he had been yesterday. He saw how selfless and kind she was. He was certain that anyone else on the island would have thought of all the ways they could personally profit and use their new influence to their advantage.

But Evie wanted the Isle of the Lost to be better for everyone.

Mal rolled her eyes and tried her best not to make fun of the stupid face Jay was making as he pined over Evie.

They reached the warehouse and Mal was still rather impressed that P.H. had managed to pull off hiding Carlos and all his inventions so well. To the regular citizen that passed by, the rare ones that would come out that far, it still looked like any other dilapidated building. If she didn't trust her gut instinct, she too never would have thought there was anything more than the shambles of an abandoned building.

But once they figured out the secret door, it was easy as they made their way through the garbage on the bottom floor to the hidden staircase. Mal had been the one to notice a lever that wasn't as dusty as everything else. She had pulled it and a secret door had revealed itself as the grate moved away and stairs appeared.

Evie smiled widely as she eagerly knocked on the door, her rapid taps betrayed her nervousness and enthusiasm.

When the door opened, P.H. looked about as impressed with the trio as he had been the night before, none too. He tried to keep the exasperated sighs to a minimum, but he could already tell the blue haired one was going to suck all his energy out with her eagerness. Some people were natural teachers and had all the energy in the world to educate, more so if the student matched them in their yearning to learn.

P.H. wasn't a teacher by nature or even by trade. He only taught Carlos because he saw it as his duty to not let anyone of his blood grow to be an idiot. While he hated gym class while growing up, he saw the merit in running children ragged to burn off some of their energy, he didn't know how else teachers would have gotten through the day with children bouncing off the walls, only some wanting to learn; and he only had **one** student. It sounded like his personal hell to teach an entire class room of them.

He thanked whatever god was listening it was still just one child he would be teaching, but still he thought those days were behind him as Carlos could learn well enough on his own and only came to him for guidance or further explanation of a text book that was either outdated or only went so far.

He already felt drained as Evie all but raced to where they had set up a couple of chairs and had a makeshift chalk board, seemingly afraid if she didn't promptly sit down that they'd rescind their offer.

As if P.H. would be foolish enough to try to finagle his way out of a faery deal, even one without magic had its consequences if broken. He certainly didn't wish to deal with any power that transcended even a great star fae like Nadine FéeMarraine's barrier.

"Carlos, why don't you get started with Evie's lesson, I want to have a few words with P.H.," Mal gently told him, but clearly she would not take no for an answer.

The teen's eyes widened, not expecting to teach so soon and by himself. His uncle nodded to him, telling him to get things started and that he'd be with them soon.

"Hi Evie…I'm professor Carlos," started off with a joke when he went to the makeshift classroom, he relaxed when his "student" giggled and was ready with a pencil and notebook. "We'll start off with the basics…"

Mal and Jay led P.H. to the other end of the warehouse to have a little privacy.

"As you see, we're upholding our end of the deal, I assume you will too," P.H. started as he took a rolled up letter from his coat pocket and handed it to Mal.

"I'll see that this gets to the Auradonian goblins when they make their next donation delivery, to whom should I instruct them to give it to?"

"Malevola de Vil. She resides in Hell Hall, Suffolk, East Riding, SW1A 1AA, UKA."

"Hell Hall? Really?"

"The de Vils are known to be…colourful," he refuses to say more than that.

"Alright, I'll make sure it gets there. But I want to talk to you about the dead children that keep popping up."

"That's not part of our deal."

"Think of it more as your duty as a citizen."

"Fine, what of them?"

"What can you tell us about the scientists on the Isle? Those that are still alive."

P.H. always thought of himself as rather level headed and not easily surprised, but he wasn't sure what the scientists that were banished to the Isle had anything to do with the murdered children. Part of him became suspicious, not wanting to be privy to any scheme the fae may have to blackmail other scientists into her service. While he wasn't particularly close to anyone else, he still respected many of them as brilliant inventors; the truly mad and vicious ones he steered clear of.

"Most either teach or live secluded lives, I don't know most of them that well."

"And the ones you do? Could you vouch for them?"

"What is this about?"

"I suspect these children are being tortured and killed by scientists."

"What makes you think that? Didn't your mother kill most of them off when she first got here?"

"You say that as if it were a bad thing."

"In general I feel executing anyone without a fair trial is rather bad."

Mal only snorted, shaking her head as if he were some simple naive child that had said something silly.

"Do you remember Dr. XXX?"

The name was vaguely familiar but he couldn't remember exactly where he had heard it.

"No."

"Well, he was one of the first mad scientists who had been banished, do you know what for?"

"No."

"He had been cutting the heads off of chickens and dogs and sewing them onto each other. Apparently he had an unquenchable curiosity as to whether the resulting creature would bark or cluck. He had started to move onto humans and fae before they finally caught and banished him. Now, mother may have been swift and merciless with her judgement, but would **you** have waited for him to kill someone on the Isle before making such a decision?"

When he didn't respond, truly not knowing what he would have done in that situation, she went on,

"Perhaps in Auradon there are plenty of police and places to keep these kind of monsters away and people safe. But on the Isle, it's kill or be killed; especially in those early days when there was no law and every villain was out to climb to the top of the hierarchy. You may not agree with Maleficent's methods, but they are what allows order on this Isle and you to live as safely as you do. If you really think you or Carlos would have been nearly as comfortable or unmolested under say Shan Yu or Jafar then you're not nearly as smart as you think you are or you really haven't been paying attention."

That he couldn't deny, but he still didn't know why she thought scientists would do such a thing.

"What makes you think scientists are behind this?"

"The bodies are coming up mutilated and showing signs of an unknown disease," she explained and pulled out sketches from her own satchel. P.H. nearly gagged at the grim detail Mal had put into the drawings, the children's skin mottled with an unnatural green hue not even seen in fairkind. Parts of their flesh were torn from their bodies, and other areas had suffered burns so deep they had blackened and charred bone.

"Regular citizens do not have the means or know-how to do this to a human body. This disease, it's nothing anyone has seen before. As far as we can tell, it's not contagious through the air or direct contact. But children are disappearing after a new body is found; all of the henchmen and other citizens have been questioned and cleared. The only suspects left are scientists, but if they are trying to create some biological weapon to try to overthrow my mother, then we need to know who and what we're dealing with."

The Isle was only so big and Maleficent had many enemies, it could literally be anyone. However, he thought Mal's suspicions had merit. All the Villains who could have taken on Maleficent had died shortly after they had been banished. Everyone else had fallen in line and accepted her as their Leader. Scientists could not take on Maleficent with might, they could however do it with knowledge and possibly technology. The later, however, was harder to do as she had control of all the merchandise that came from the Mainland.

Another option would be biological warfare and by the looks of these poor children, they were probably getting close to a viable weapon.

Still, this was all Isle politics that he wanted nothing to do with. What did he care if Maleficent or a Mad Scientist was in control? As long as Carlos was safe in Auradon, he didn't really care what happened to himself.

"Look, maybe you don't give a shit about your fellow Isle citizens," she grated out, seeing the apathy in his face. "But most of them do not deserve to die in a war for leadership. And these are children they are experimenting on. Children innocent of any of the wrong doing of their parents but are being made to suffer the most. Further, these are orphaned children who are targeted because no one gives a shit about them other than me. Not all of them have a brilliant uncle willing to take them in and shelter them."

That was a low blow, bringing Carlos into this fight but he was surprised that Mal was so adamant about getting justice. He had figured that she was merely protecting her mother's interest as they were so closely tied to her own. But he began to realize that this wasn't just a prison to Mal and those born on the Isle, this was their home. The only home they've ever known and it was theirs to make better or as much as they could make it better.

"Most of the scientists I know are inventors, it's unlikely they would know how to create biological weapons…but perhaps they had picked up a specialty or two over the last two decades. I will ask around, see if they know anyone or are willing to talk."

"Thank you. I will be around daily to drop Evie off and work out of your warehouse."

"Whoa, why is my home becoming HQ?"

"Because it's remote and I don't trust my materials to not be overseen anywhere else. This is a private and secret investigation. If these sick fucks have any hint that we're onto them, then who knows what horror they could potentially unleash."

P.H. rolled his eyes, unhappy that his home was going to get regular visit from horrible teenagers.

* * *

The first afternoon was spent going over the basics of what Carlos called "biofuel." Evie had been afraid she would be woefully behind and it would take forever for the concepts to sink in, but Carlos seemed to know her strength lay in chemistry and started with that first. While her specialty was in healing and human or fae application, the basic knowledge transferred easily enough.

"So with the scraps thrown out by the citizens, and supplemented by our own garden since there is very little ever thrown out and other non-edible plant waste we find from the forest, we're able to create cellulosic ethanol. With materials from the Mainland that even islanders don't want, we were able to create a distiller," he summarized the whole process.

"What do you use as an enzyme to break down the complex cellulose into simple sugars?" Evie questioned, eager to learn and interested in the material.

"We use a black mold that commonly grows on food waste, we're able to cultivate it in a controlled environment and extract the pectinase."

"Have you tried crested devil traps? They'd produce abundantly more pectinase and they're plentiful."

"You mean the scary, poisonous, and carnivorous plants that grows a few miles north of here? We attempted to cultivate them but they're too…aggressive."

He didn't want to admit to her that when he and P.H. attempted to collect them, they were outwitted by plants that had sharp teeth and were not afraid to peck at them when they got too close.

"Did you sing to them?"

"Sing?"

"Yes, sing. You have to sing to crested devil traps or they're going to bite you."

That was news to Carlos, he had never heard of such a way to collect the plant but then again all of his knowledge of flora was from human text books and his uncle, also a human. There were several species considered "fae" or "magical" that humans tended to steer clear from; the crested devil traps among them.

"It's best when a fae sings to them, but witches could do in a pinch. We'll have Mal help collect a few samples and we can experiment on them to see how much more biofuel we can produce."

Evie already excitedly planned out the next few days, almost thrumming in anticipation of how much fun it would be to experiment and catalog their findings.

"What are you volunteering me for?" Mal asked somewhat amused as she strolled in. She noticed several chemical formulas written on the board, only recognizing that a few of them included sugars but otherwise chemistry was not her forte.

"You're going to collect crested devil traps tonight, remember to bring thick gloves. Their sap can burn even if they don't bite."

" **What?** " her shoulders slumped, head cocked to the side, and eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"It's for science Mal," Evie told her as if that explained anything.

"That's your answer to everything."

"Well, it's true," Evie pouted, determined that they would collect the plants that night.

Mal rolled her eyes but shook her head in defeat, if Evie said they needed crested devil traps then she would have crested devil traps. If she refused then Jay would volunteer because he's an idiot in love and those plants were lulled by fae voice, not djinn. So to make sure her dumb friend didn't die trying to impress a girl, she would go along with whatever inane thing Evie wanted.

It wouldn't be the first time she was all but forced to go into the forest for some rare quasi-sentient plant that could kill them for one of Evie's "experiments." In fairness, the witch's remedies and tinctures actually worked so it was usually well worth the trip and risk to get these ingredients for her.

Except the one time she was stung by blue gilled hornet weed, her arm swelled up like a blueberry and she didn't talk to Evie for a week.

Carlos stood to the side, wondering if it would be too forward or presumptuous of him to ask to go. He wasn't exactly eager to be bitten by a voracious plant, but he did want to learn something new and it was an excuse to hang out more with teenagers his own age. He busied himself with the chalk board, going over the notes and formulas; he tried to think of a natural way to offer his help and trying to appear nonchalant.

Something must have heard his prayers when Evie said,

"And Carlos will come, he should see how these things are collected. In case he has to gather them and we're busy, or…"

" **Yes** …" he reminded himself to calm down, he didn't need to seem so eager. "…yes. I will come, I definitely should see how to collect crested devils trap…for science."

"I don't think we need a fourth person, three seems plenty," Jay frowned, not sure why this interloper was invading their circle; he wasn't all too thrilled with how easily Evie and the sheltered boy had gotten along.

"No, the more the better. The devils are hard to pull, even when they're calm. So Mal will be free to sing while the three of us can quickly gather. I think it'd be most efficient if one holds the plant taught, one snips, and then one holds the bag. We'd be done in no time."

Jay couldn't think of a reason to keep Carlos from coming, part of him too entranced with Evie's smile and excitement; he found himself unable to deny her anything she wanted.

Mal's eyes jumped from Jay, to Evie, to Carlos, and back again; observing the exchange and she turned so they wouldn't see her almost gag.

"We have double lined linen gloves," Carlos volunteered, eager to be part of the group and remained slightly demure, not understanding why Jay was staring so hard at him. "And we also have thick linen aprons and goggles."

"Yes, that will be great," Evie beamed at him, so glad that someone else knew the vast importance of fieldwork safety. "We'll meet here after dark…"

"We can have dinner again," Carlos ignored his uncle's bewildered reaction, he wasn't going to pass up spending more time with Mal and ingratiating himself into the group.

"I won't pass up free meals," Mal shrugged her shoulders, more than happy to eat other people's food.

"We'll bring the side dishes," Evie volunteered, not wanting to seem greedy and eat **all** of their new friend's food.

"And pie," P.H. insisted, he ignored Carlos' embarrassed stuttering that they didn't have to specifically bring a dessert.

 _Of course they should bring the desert. It's not like anyone besides the brothel is rich enough to have honey and sugar. I definitely deserve pie for being dragged into this scientist business._

"Of course," Evie smiled, happy that someone likes her baking so much. "Is gooseberry OK?"

From P.H.'s slight eye roll to the back of his head and drooling, she figured it was perfectly fine.

* * *

The dinner was dominated with conversation about science and the generator, Carlos had made a vegetable soup that paired perfectly with the rustic loaves of bread and small beer Mal and Jay brought respectively. P.H. still accepted everything on Carlos' behalf, he ignored his nephew's insistence that he trusted Mal; the older de Vil wouldn't take any chances.

The food was warm and delicious, the conversation flowed easily and even P.H. had let his guard down by regaling them all with a few stories of his time in Auradon University. Evie sighed, the thought of so much schooling seemed like a dream. P.H. smiled, hoping that Carlos would be able to experience such things. Part of him could appreciate that the teens were willing to gather such dangerous plants so that they could potentially yield more fuel. It would certainly come in hand when Maleficent demanded that the whole Isle be powered. He would have preferred Carlos not go along, but it wasn't like he wanted to go collect vicious plants and certainly not with teenagers.

Dread started to pool in his stomach when the four started to get ready to go out, Carlos had smiled wider than he had ever seen him. He saw his eyes linger on the purpled hair fae, he saw a longing in the boy that made his heart clench in his chest.

P.H. had to force himself not to take Carlos aside and say something, to discourage whatever budding friendships or feelings he may have.

 _Don't jump to conclusions. He may simply be excited to have friends…friends I denied him…friends that would have turned him into a villain…he's a smart boy, he knows that getting off the Isle would be what is best for him…he wouldn't be foolish enough to endanger his chance of getting out of here._

"Carlos," he found himself saying as they started to head out. Carlos, turned to him, wondering what he wanted. Seeing how happy he was, P.H. couldn't bring himself to issue any warning.

"Please be careful," was all he could muster.

His nephew smiled, "Of course uncle. We'll be back before midnight."

"Don't worry uncle," Mal mocked, "we won't let the traps eat him."

Jay snickered almost evilly, his handsome smile that insinuated that perhaps they would let Carlos be eaten.

His nephew just rolled his eyes, knowing the others were kidding and waved him goodbye.

P.H. sighed, hoping he would be alright and watched him go.

* * *

Carlos couldn't help but admire at how confident the three walked into the forest, unafraid of anything that may be lurking in the dark. He hoped they could not hear his heart beating rapidly in his chest, or how his eyes quickly surveyed their surroundings again and again.

He and Jay held torches to light their way, the moon and stars blotted out by the constant fog of pollution that remained thick even well into the night when the coal fueled boilers were unlit.

 _Perhaps when the generator goes public, its clean burn will allow the pollution to dissipate and we…they can finally see the sky._

Science books and his uncle had told him the sky was an array of colours; blues, reds, pinks, and oranges that faded into each other depending on the time of day. That at night, stars shown bright and pulsated with the light from millennia ago.

 _I bet Mal would look lovely under moonlight._

He stole glances of her as they walked through the forest, he thought she was radiant as the fire from the torches danced across her deep lavender hair.

Mal busied herself trying not to laugh as Jay not so subtly put himself between Carlos and Evie, she couldn't believe the witch couldn't tell how in love her friend was with her.

 _Idiots, all of them._

So busy with thoughts of her friend's love life, she didn't see Carlos' adoring looks.

The night was filled with Evie's chatter, going over every precaution they ought to take. When they got to their destination, he suddenly recalled why he and P.H. never bothered. The crested devil traps had earned their name, with their red bulbus bodies, wide mouths filled with razor sharp teeth, and pitch-black crest that raised when threatened—they looked positively demonic.

"And here we are," Evie announced with excitement, taking the equipment and started to give orders. "Jay, give Mal the torch. I'll hold the bag. Jay, you will hold the plants once she sings them to sleep. Carlos, you will cut them as close to the root as possible; I will hold the bag."

Carlos was surprised that they followed her orders, he would have thought Mal would have taken charge as future heiress. But Evie had a way about her, he figured; her kind smile and bright eyes made it hard to say no to her.

They all did as she instructed, sheers in his hands and they all wore thick linen gloves and heavy aprons. Jay and Mal wished they had such things last year when they tried to gather a few for one of Evie's experiments. The few specimens they were able to collect had turned into a powerful cleanser, something that could have saved time and effort into laundry and helped with sanitation for the midwives; unfortunately, the plants were too arduous to get and Mal couldn't convince her mother to spare the manpower and equipment; no one else would volunteer to help them.

Mal didn't blame her mother, in times of famine and unrest there were more important matters. They brought several bags in the hopes of gathering enough for experiments for the generator and to make more of Evie's cleanser.

"We can also make apple wine as pectinase is particularly efficient at extracting juices from fruit, my mother is certain to invest in collecting crested devil's trap if we can make more wine. It'll certainly make Fleur de Pomme the most popular brothel on the island."

"Why didn't she sponsor it last year?" Mal asked, forgetting why Evie's mother said no to such a potentially lucrative endeavor.

"We didn't gather enough to actually test it to make wine. We had no proof of concept, so my mother wouldn't risk her money or me going out to collect."

Mal rolled her eyes and scoffed in annoyance, she then cleared her throat when she saw everyone was ready. Holding the torch over the plants as they hissed at the bright light and sensing threats near them, she started to sing,

 _ **Stars shining bright above you  
**_ _ **Night breezes seem to whisper I love you  
**_ _ **Birds singing in the sycamore tree  
**_ _ **Dream a little dream of me**_

Carlos had never heard the song before, her voice soft and mesmerizing. The aggressive plants had started to sway to the tempo of her tune, just as enamored as he was.

 _ **Say night-ie night and kiss me  
**_ _ **Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me  
**_ _ **While I'm alone and blue as can be  
**_ _ **Dream a little dream of me**_

After a few more verses, the plants had gone still; Carlos would describe it as falling asleep. Their sharp fangs had retreated, the crests had fallen, and they had slumped down a few centimeters. Evie had motioned to them to hold and cut, not speaking out loud so she wouldn't disrupt Mal's song.

 _ **Stars fading but I linger on, dear  
**_ _ **Still craving your kiss  
**_ _ **I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear  
**_ _ **Just saying this  
**_ _ **Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you  
**_ _ **Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you  
**_ _ **But in your dreams whatever they be  
**_ _ **Dream a little dream of me**_

The gloves and aprons had worked beautifully, they had gotten down a rhythm—Jay held the plants, Carlos cut towards the roots, Evie held the bag open.

Hold, snip, bag. Hold, snip, bag. Hold, snip, bag; all to the tempo of Mal's melody.

Efficiently, the three of them had cleared three bags full of plants, more than they ever thought possible in one night and without any of them getting burned by the sap or bitten.

They were all in high spirits as they walked back to town.

"This will be plenty to see if we can use it for biofuel, make cleaner, **and** use it for wine. Once we get proof of how useful this plant is, Maleficent and my mother will have to invest. This will be the first proof that I can be more useful than…more useful," she refrained from mentioned her potential sex worker. "And it'll be an easy transition from the tinctures and remedies, to the cleanser and winemaking, to the generator. It won't be so out of the blue."

Jay was happy for Evie, relieved that their plan was progressing. He was certain she would rise to the occasion and easily learn how to make the generator. He was also certain that her cleanser would benefit the Isle. It did more than just make things tidy, half the deaths on the Isle were due to unhygienic conditions and infections. If they could use a stronger cleanser that also disinfected, that could help with the mortality of the Isle.

Jay wanted to dislike Carlos, but the other boy's easy-going nature made it hard; he was also vital in helping Evie and Jay wouldn't sabotage her chance because of his petty jealousy. He squished down all the sickness he felt whenever Evie smiled at Carlos' jokes or how they spoke about science that he had no hope of following. He also tried not to think of how good a match they were, smart and meant for better things.

If saving Evie from Fleur de Pomme meant that she had found a connection to someone who wasn't him, then that's something he would have to live with.

"Jay," Evie stopped babbling and thought of something, he paid attention immediately. "I don't think we can wait for the monthly shipment of donations from the Mainland, do you think you could steal some supplies for us?"

"Of course," glad that there was something he exceled at and he was more than happy to do. "What do you need?"

"We're going to need several blunt and flat instruments to scrape off the sap, I think butter knives would be ideal…I'll show you what those are," she added since she was certain he wasn't familiar with the flat wear, if it was a convenient excuse to have him at the brothel and spend time with him, then she wouldn't pass up the opportunity.

They talked happily together, Evie making a wish list and Jay paying apt attention and knowing exactly where he was going to steal them from. Mal slowed her pace, wanting to give the two some privacy, something Evie rarely ever got with Jay.

Their already slow pace went even slower, none of the teens were eager to get back. Alone in the woods of the Isle, they were free of anything. Carlos had matched his pace to Mal, hoping he wasn't being too obvious but wanted to take advantage of the time he had. The soft chatter of Evie's wish list had faded to white noise, how far ahead the other two were in front of them.

"That was amazing, what you did back there," he told her, immediately regretting it as it sounded lame to his ears, but he kept walking and tried to act like he was confident.

"I just sang a song," she shrugged but flattered.

"You have a beautiful voice, I had never heard a song like that."

"Thank you…I learned it from a human henchman of my mother's. She used to sing to me at night, she watched me while my mother consolidated power."

Carlos thought it a bit odd that she referred to the woman as a henchman rather than a babysitter, but he continued to listen.

"You were a great help too, I really appreciate not having to deal directly with the devil traps."

He laughed,

"More than happy to help, I think we all work well together."

She nodded her agreement, she didn't really have much hope for Carlos at first. She had worried that he was soft, too sheltered by his uncle to be much use outside of the classroom. She was glad that he easily followed directions and didn't shrink away from getting his hands dirty. She was also surprised at how eager he was to come with them, but then she realized that he had to be lonely. Even if it was for his safety, being isolated had to be tough. She recalled her own lonely childhood until she met Jay. Most were too afraid to let their children near the daughter of Maleficent, either afraid she was just as merciless or if their child would inadvertently offend Mal and would reign down the wrath of the Leader of the Isle.

"Thank you for helping Evie, I know the deal was with P.H.," she said after a few moments of silence.

"It's nothing…"

"No, it's not nothing," she stopped, looking at him to make sure he understood her. "You're making a real difference in Evie's life. You're making a difference in everyone's life. The main plan might be to get Evie out of the brothel, but this generator could change all of our lives for the better. You're not only helping Evie learn how to make one, but you were instrumental in creating it. P.H. is not the type to give false flattery or credit. So, you must really be something."

"Thanks," he mumbled. He was glad for the cover of night as he was certain he was blushing scarlet. "I wish I could have done something sooner, instead of hiding all this time…"

"Also, never feel bad for surviving. P.H. is rude, but he's right. If you had been raised out in the open, eventually you would have turned criminal and you definitely would never have had a chance to go to Auradon. You're already at a disadvantage by being born to a villain. And who knows what my mother would have done with you, she employs anyone who would give her an advantage, and she'll use force if she has to…your life could have been worse."

Mal wasn't going to sugarcoat it or try to deny that her mother was ruthless. He could appreciate her candor.

"Guilt and regret aren't luxuries we have on the Isle," she finished softly, "And they certainly don't belong on your shoulders."

She reached over to him and squeezed his shoulder, smiled at him and turned to walk back to the warehouse. He followed her slowly, thinking on what she had said. He couldn't help but feel the shoulder she touched, his heart racing and his stomach bubbling with butterflies.

He smiled, thankful that Mal didn't see him as a scared little boy. He felt that perhaps everything would be alright.


End file.
